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User Guide NetXtreme II
January 2010
Broadcom Corporation
Document ENGSRVT52-CDUM100-RBroadcom Boot Agent Driver Software: Broadcom NetXtreme II™ Network Adapter User Guide
Broadcom Boot Agent Driver Software:
Broadcom NetXtreme II™ Network Adapter User
Guide
•Overview
• Setting Up MBA in a Client Environment
• Setting Up MBA in a Server Environment
OVERVIEW
Broadcom NetXtreme II adapters support Preboot Execution Environment (PXE), Remote Program Load (RPL), iSCSI, and
Bootstrap Protocol (BootP). Multi-Boot Agent (MBA) is a software module that allows your network computer to boot with
the images provided by remote servers across the network. The Broadcom MBA driver complies with the PXE 2.1
specification and is released with both monolithic and split binary images. This provides flexibility to users in different
environments where the motherboard may or may not have built-in base code.
The MBA module operates in a client/server environment. A network consists of one or more boot servers that provide boot
images to multiple computers through the network. The Broadcom implementation of the MBA module has been tested
successfully in the following environments:
• Linux Red Hat PXE Server. Broadcom PXE clients are able to remotely boot and use network resources (NFS mount,
and so forth) and to perform Linux installations. In the case of a remote boot, the Linux universal driver binds
seamlessly with the Broadcom Universal Network Driver Interface (UNDI) and provides a network interface in the Linux
remotely-booted client environment.
• Intel APITEST. The Broadcom PXE driver passes all API compliance test suites.
• MS-DOS UNDI. The MS-DOS Universal Network Driver Interface (UNDI) seamlessly binds with the Broadcom UNDI to
provide a network adapter driver interface specification (NDIS2) interface to the upper layer protocol stack. This allows
computers to connect to network resources in an MS-DOS environment.
• Remote Installation Service (RIS). The Broadcom PXE clients are able to remotely boot to a Windows 2000 Server or
a Windows Server 2003 (SP1 and older) system running RIS to initialize and install Windows Server 2003 and prior
operating systems. To extend functionalities beyond basic network connectivity when loading an operating system
through RIS, see Using the NetXtreme II Monolithic Driver.
• Windows Deployment Service (WDS). For Windows Server 2003 SP2, RIS was replaced by WDS, which offers a
Broadcom PXE client to install Windows operating systems, including Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008 and
Windows Server 2008 R2. To extend functionalities beyond basic network connectivity when loading an operating
system through WDS, see Using the NetXtreme II Monolithic Driver.
• Automated Deployment Service (ADS). The Broadcom PXE client can connect to a Windows Server 2003 system
and run a deployment agent that allows one to perform some administrative functions, including, but not limited to,
deploying a Windows Server 2003 image. To extend functionalities beyond basic network connectivity when loading an
operating system through ADS, see Using the NetXtreme II Monolithic Driver.